Right-hander Stephen Strasburg has been cleared to return to the Nationals rotation on Saturday reports Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. He had been sidelined since September 9 with forearm tightness.

Strasburg 25 was originally scheduled to start on Thursday but his start was pushed back when he had trouble getting loose during a throwing session on Wednesday. He threw off flat ground on Friday and everything went well.

The Nationals come into Friday five games behind the Reds for the second wild-card spot with nine games remaining. The Braves will clinch the NL East title with their next win or Washington's next loss.